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There’s an air of panic and inevitability in the city surrounding the immediate future of these Blue Jays. What had been a mid-May lock on a wild-card spot and a record five games above .500 after beating the Rays in their series opener, quickly turned into a series loss in Florida followed by a three-game spanking in Texas that included yet another blown save by an overworked bullpen.

American League contenders that had slow starts, like the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels, are now coming on strong. Even with Drew Hutchison’s 6-2 victory over Baltimore on Monday night, it’s become a roller-coaster ride for the Jays and a crisis of self-confidence, especially among their young starting pitchers.

“I wouldn’t call it a crisis,” manager John Farrell said. “We’ve come off a tough road trip. I think the effort which we continually show every night, even though the outcome might not be what we would desire or like, there is never a question with our effort and our intent.”

The acknowledged leader of the Jays’ pitching staff for the past two seasons has been left-hander Ricky Romero. As such, the 27-year-old ace enters Tuesday’s start against the Orioles with the dual task of turning himself and his team around. A series win against the first-place Orioles would surely help. It makes Romero’s start arguably his most important of the season so far in his role as the rotation’s main man.

The L.A. native has a very guarded public personality. Rarely does he allow himself to come out from behind the pleasant, media-savvy athlete who answers all the questions that need to be answered. It’s a part of the job he graciously puts up with.

That’s why it was so jarring, following his last start at the Trop against the Rays, to listen to Romero beat himself up over his lack of fastball command and his inability to stay away from walks. He seemed at a loss for answers.

Over his last four starts, Romero has pitched 23.1 innings, allowing 11 earned runs on 19 hits, with 21 walks and 20 strikeouts. He was looking for answers that he did not have in the Jays’ quiet clubhouse. It was as if he was looking for a leader . . . but he is the leader. He needs to turn it around.

There was a similarly jarring post-game moment involving Romero last season. After taking the loss in a 2-0 defeat in Atlanta, Romero called out his teammates over their consistent lack of offence. He showed true emotion — anger and frustration. The immediate result was that the Jays started to score some runs and in his next start, Romero completed a sweep of the Cards in St. Louis with a 6-0 shutout. Good result.

“We’ve had a lot of different levels of frustration,” Farrell said. “I think in some cases it’s been handled very well, in some instances I think it’s been well publicized that maybe it hasn’t gone as you’d intend.

“I think no matter what the outcome of a given ballgame is, one of the things we talk regularly about is how we deal with frustration. That’s going to be present in this game no matter if you’re hitting .350 or .150. So how we deal with it individually and collectively, and how we respond to that frustration, is all we have control over and that’s where we continually stress staying with what you can control. That’s our attitude, that’s our work and that’s our approach to every given game.”

The Jays have allowed their frustration and passion to leak onto the field, primarily in the direction of the umpires, but the Jays are not alone. In the recent Rays series in Boston, both benches cleared and it even ended up with each team’s coaches in the middle of the fracas. On Monday in Boston, Tigers manager Jim Leyland lost his cool in a post-game non-rant against umpires. It’s that type of sport and that time of year. O’s veteran manager Buck Showalter sees it as part of the game.

“There’s a fine line there,” Showalter said. “I’d rather pull people back than push them forward. It’s a competitive game played by emotional and passionate people. That’s going to happen if you have people who care. I don’t think fans want to see a bunch of robotic people who go around saying, ‘Que sera sera.’ There are times where you have to bite your lip as a manager and hide your emotions, but it’s too competitive not to have that spill over now and then if you care about what you’re doing.”

Showalter has managed also-rans and he’s managed contenders — often in consecutive seasons — and he sees no difference in the passion both versions bring to the table. In fact, when the last-place O’s eliminated the Red Sox on the final day of last season, one would think they had won the AL title.

“I think everybody feels that way, if you have pride in what you’re doing and what you’re being asked to do,” the O’s skipper said. “These are the best players in the world. These are the best umpires in the world. I mean, it’s the reason why the players are here. They’re competitive and they’re passionate about what they do. They know when something’s not right. The good ones handle it accordingly.”

The result of Romero’s start on Tuesday will be huge for the Jays. There are no weak links in the AL East and taking time out to feel sorry for yourself as a team is counterproductive, perhaps fatal. Focus the passion on the game and the rest will follow.

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